


Dead Reckoning

by bedb



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-03-14 07:36:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13585350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bedb/pseuds/bedb
Summary: Hux tries to kill Kylo Ren. If you don't do the job right, it can come back and bite you on the butt





	1. Surviving the Escape

The Silencer dropped out of hyperspace alone, its pilot suffering the effects of poison administered by General’s Hux’s ally Capt. Phasma. Stupid! He had been so stupid to not pay attention to her! Dizzy and sweating, his thick black hair plastered to his forehead, he wondered if his distress signal would reach his knights before Hux located him and came running. Hux and Phasma had to find him and finish it, or he would retaliate with the full dark side of the force once he recovered…if he recovered. Unable to think clearly, his mind started wandering. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine Rey’s face. But even that added to his distress. He would never see her again and it was his own fault. Sleep. Let him sleep until someone…anyone….showed up.

General Leia frowned as she walked through the halls of the Resistance’s new base. She could feel her son faltering as he opened his mind to anyone who could feel him. He was dying. Reaching out to him through the Force, she tried to bolster his will to live. She loved him and wanted him to live. He could still come home to her. His thoughts shadowed her own but they weren’t coherent. 

Rey clutched her waist and tried to bring the intense pain under control. She knew instinctively it wasn’t coming from her. It was Ben. Alone in her room, she tried to reach out and find him. What had happened? Ben! She could feel him but there was no coherent response, just a painful floating sensation. Forcing down her own pain, she stood up straight and moved to sit on her bunk. Nothing coherent.

Kylo drifted in and out of consciousness. Sleep was preferred but with things out there hunting him, it was not wise to be incoherent too long. But darkness was welcomed when it came.

How long he’d been asleep he didn’t know, but the voice shouting in his head was urgent and LOUD. ‘Shoot! Shoot now!’ Trusting the voice, Kylo stirred and did as he was told. Through the cracks in his eyes he watched a TIE fighter explode. Someone had found him. ‘You need to move now’ the familiar voice warned him.

“I am, I am,” Kylo told the comforting voice. Flying was instinctive to him as was self- preservation. Just a short jump and his knights would still be able to find him.

 

Rey had to go find Ben. General Organa knew of her connection to her son and would not try to stop her, but Finn and Rose might. And she could only imagine what Finn would think when he learned of her connection to the First Order’s dark side enforcer.

“When were you going to tell me…us?” Finn asked accusingly in the impromptu conference room with General Organa, Poe Dameron and other leaders of the Resistance listened to her intentions. Chewie stood like a piece of the furniture by the door.

“When I was ready,” Rey replied, trying to not sound testy at his accusatory tone.

“If he’s dying, good riddance,” Finn countered.

“He’s turned. That’s why they are hunting him,” Rey insisted. “If he’s turned, he can help us.”

“If,” Poe repeated. “While I’d rather not fight HIM, we don’t know for certain if he’ll join us or kill us.”

How to make them understand. “He turned for me,” she told them, her deepest secret about to be exposed. “We are opposite sides of the Force. Together we make one.”

Leia’s face reflected that she had suspected this, but she was the only one who wasn’t surprised.

“You mean you can honestly feel him?” Poe asked curiously.

“Yes, and I don’t know what will happen to me if he dies.” Rey was pretty sure she would keep her powers, but there was no telling what would happen to her psyche if she actually felt the life leave his body.

Leia, silent until now, finally spoke up. “I can not advise on this matter, but as a mother I want my son back, and if this will do it, I want it to happen.” 

Respect for General Organa was too great to dismiss her desires. “Well, if she’s going after him, I’m going too,” Finn interjected and glanced at Rose who had become his shadow.

“Maybe I need to go as well, “Poe included.

“No, we need you here,” Leia stopped him. Too many people would also put her son on the defensive. 

 

Kylo Ren dropped out of hyperspace, his hands trembling in time to his thoughts. ‘That’s give you a little more time to rest,’ the voice assured him.

Realizing that the voice was something distinct and separate from him, Kylo asked, “Who are you?”

‘That hurts my feelings,’ the voice responded the words not matching the humor in the voice. 

Kylo was filled with a warmth that comforted him. Tears that he couldn’t spare clouded his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he muttered in shame.

“I know, and so am I,’ the voice answered more clearly.

“Are you real or am I imaging this?”

“Your mother told me to bring you home. I’m still trying.”

Kylo couldn’t answer. The need to rest had taken him again.

Kylo dreamed of a girl. She was strong of spirit and beautiful to his eyes. He ached for her, but she wanted nothing to do with him.

‘You can’t win her back if you die,’ the voice warned him.

“She doesn’t want me,” Kylo moaned in pain. He didn’t know which hurt worse, the one in his heart or the one consuming his body.

‘Definitely not the words of a Solo,’ the voice responded almost whimsically.

Kylo Ren almost smiled. “You never showed me,” he reminded the voice.

‘I know. I should have kept you with me.’

Silence followed as Kylo Ren sank deeper into nothingness.

 

Rey did not know how she was going to do this, but she knew she could not let Ben Solo die. Trusting in the Force with Chewie, Finn and Rose at her side, she readied the Millennium Falcon.


	2. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey meets the Knights of Ren and helps them heal Kylo Ren.

The Millennium Falcon dropped out of hyperspace at the exact spot where Rey felt Ben was located. Guided by their Force connection, she was certain she would find him, but what she had not expected was an ebony ship of such design that she had never seen before swallowing the Silencer in an opened hangar that resembled a creature’s mouth.

“Looks like we got here too late,” Finn observed over Rey’s shoulder.

Rey didn’t answer; she could clearly see that they were late. A roar from Chewie drew her eyes to the monitor. “A First Order ship has found us,” she announced and hit switches that would send them back into hyperspace the moment it became essential. But first she had to see this. Ben was on the black ship, and she needed to get to him.

Sitting there a speck in deep space, the Millennium Falcon was nothing compared to the the First Order cruiser that appeared. Five times the size of the unknown ship, it slid in like a snake on a kill. Rey was certain she was witnessing the end of Ben Solo when something strange happened. A powerful surge of energy in the Force made the hairs on her arm stand up. The lights on the cruiser flashed brightly and some exploded. Chewie howled once and then the Millennium Falcon was in hyperspace pulled along by the unknown ship.

Not having control of the Falcon worried her passengers, but if they were going where Ben Solo was going, that suited Rey just fine. Finn was not so sure he liked this, while Chewie and Rose simply accepted they were along for the ride.

“It’ll be all right,” Rose murmured and laid a hand on Finn’s arm. He was not convinced.

When the Falcon came out of hyperspace they were flying towards a planet colored green and blue. If was off the charts orbiting a yellow star. Taking controls of the Falcon, Chewie followed the larger ship into atmosphere and across a great forest growing wild between snow capped mountains. A great river wound through the green and poured into a lake before continuing on its course down a mighty waterfall. A castle rose on the shore of the lake, and Rey knew instantly what she was looking at. “Vader’s castle,” she said in awe.

“It’s beautiful,” Rose said while leaning over the back of Rey’s seat.

 

Chewie landed the Falcon a hundred meters from the ebony ship. Rey was out the hatch and running towards it when it’s bay hatch opened. She stopped short when six men in masks and cloaks emerged, one of them carrying Ben in his arms. This close to him Rey could feel the life ebbing from Ben’s body.

The six men paid her no mind as they continued towards the castle on foot. Rey, Finn, Rose and Chewie followed. An ancient woman met them and nodded as the men disappeared down a passage. She stopped Rey. “Wait here.”

Rey stopped and glanced back at Finn. Ben needed her. “Stay here,” she told him and hurried after the men. It took her a moment to find the room where they had taken Ben but she found it, and with helmets removed she could see the men were no older than Ben. The one in charge was a powerful sandy haired man with sharp eyes and a hard young face. He looked at her a moment while the others stripped Ben down to the skin on the narrow alter. Her first thought was they were going to kill him, and she wasn’t going to let that happen. But then she looked at Ben’s body and saw that he was in serious distress. Slick with sweat, his lips flushed red, he was dying right in front of her.

“Stand here,” the man told her and moved away from Ben’s head. “Lay your hands upon his temples.

Rey did as she was told, but this was wrong. She needed to lay her hands over his heart, but another man was in that position. “I need to be where he is,” she said.

The sandy haired man studied her a moment and then nodded. The smaller man moved to Ben’s head. Rey laid her hands over Ben’s heart, and for the first time she really felt his suffering. Horrible things were haunting his thoughts, but her hands upon his breast pulled him away from them. Each man touched Ben. Hands, ankles, head, lower abdomen. No words were spoken but power rose. Rey trembled as the power swept over her through her and into Ben. She could almost taste the poison that as killing him. The combined power attacked the poison and forced it out of his body through the sweat he was covered in. She could see it through shuttered eyes green and thick,. Ben was suffering terribly but he could still sense her presence. Like a wounded child his thoughts crawled to her and folded themselves around her mind.

Exhausted she was the last to raise her hands from his body. “Move him to his bed,” the sandy haired man told two of the men who nodded and lifted the board Ben was lying on. Rey wanted to follow but the man stopped her.

“He will sleep now for a few hours. They will give him a spell to help him rest. Your presence would not be helpful.” Then as an after thought he added, “It will be a few hours before we know if we got it all.”

“He and I are joined…”

“I sensed that,” he said. Thinking that perhaps introductions were needed, he added, “I am Conall.” Nodding at the smaller man, he said, “He is Setanta, and this handsome devil is Neisie. The silent one is Celchar. The two that carried Kylo away are Cet and Ansal.”

“The Knights of Ren,” Rey replied in awe. “I have heard of you.”

“Not flattering, I bet,” Neisie said and extended his gloved hand towards the door. “I could use some wine. Do you drink?”

“Not really.”

“Pity.”

Finn was relieved when Rey returned with four of the men she had run after. Introductions were made. Conall was Kylo’s second and the one in charge right now. Nothing happened until Neisie kissed Rose’s hand. She giggled and Finn frowned.

“Single women are not safe with him around,” Setanta said and handed Finn a goblet of good wine. Rose accepted one from Celchar although like Rey she was not much of a drinker. 

“He lies,” Neisie laughed as the two men who had taken Ben to his bed returned.

“Sleeping peacefully,” Cet said and poured himself a goblet. “It’s early, but what the hell” He drained the goblet. “Nice. Now I’ll go see if Hux has gotten his ship moving again.”

“You don’t want Hux to find us,” Finn spoke up apprehensively.

“He won’t. Would you like to see it?” Cet asked the man.

“Oh hell yes!” Finn replied and followed Cet.

Conall watched them a moment and then turned to the two women. “I can have separate rooms for you or if you feel more comfortable together, you can share.”

Rey looked at Rose. “Sure, if you want.” She actually didn’t want to share a room but it would be rude to just say no. Then she would have to explain why, and that would lead to an awkward conversation she wasn’t even ready to admit she was thinking.

Conall showed them to a large elegant room with a huge bed covered in silk and furs. Think blankets made sure they would stay warm at night.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Rose said in sheer awe of the luxury around them. There were even clothes that a woman who love to wear in the wardrobe. “They’re gorgeous!” she said and looked through them, noticing that some of them were her size and others were Rey’s. “I think they’ll fit.”

Rey took a deep blue gown out and held it to her. She didn’t have to guess. The castle was full of magic and it would be easy for it to manufacture the dresses to anyone’s size.  
There was a knock at the door and the elderly woman entered the room. “Is everything to your liking?”

“Yes, but I was wondering if I might see Ben,” Rey replied.

“He is resting right now, and the gentlemen fear your presence will disturb him.”

Rey frowned but let it go. “These are beautiful but I would not feel comfortable wearing one.” She detected Rose’s look of dejection. “I’m not saying you can’t. But I will feel more comfortable in something a little more sturdy with legs.” Seeing the woman’s equally distressed look, she sighed and said, “When Ben is up and about I will choose one to wear, but right now I would prefer something a little less regal.”

“As you wish. And a bath is waiting in the next room if you wish.”

Bath! Oh yes, and the water changed itself. Rose jumped in first and afterwards selected a bright blue gown with deep red flowers on it. When she moved the flowers seemed to float on a breeze. It was pure magic. Rey found something equally gorgeous but with leggings. Slipping them on she felt beautiful and powerful at the same time. Plus the light saber went better with the leggings than the gown. There was even an ornate belt to attach it to.

Rey helped Rose put up her hair and even select some jewelry that in a box on a deep cherry red dresser. Deciding to be a little less glamorous, Rey pulled her hair back with a golden barrette. 

“Does Kylo own all this?” Rose asked her curiously.

“Ben. And I think he does. This is one of Darth Vader’s castles. Not the main one but one of them.”

“Darth Vader?”

“His grandfather. General Organa’s father.”

“I didn’t know.”

“It’s not a secret. People just don’t talk about it.”

Finn was excited about the technology he had seen but he was clearly unprepared for Rose in a gown covered with roses and moved in an invisible breeze. Before he could say anything, Neisie took her hand and kissed it. “I would be honored if you sat beside me,” he said gallantly and pulled out the chair beside his at the great table loaded with food. Jealousy flared. Commandiering the chair on the other side of her, he took Rose’s other hand and kissed it.

“You look gorgeous,” he said and shot the knight a glare that said back off.

Rey sat beside Conall and noticed the chair at the head of the table was vacant. Ben’s place. “Has anyone checked on him?”

“He is never alone,” Conall answered kindly. 

“How is he doing?”

“ He has improved, but I detected some remnants of the poison.”

“Then we must do the ritual again.”

“We will, my lady, but it is hard on his body and us as well. “

“I feel fine,” Rey assured him. “It will only get worse if we don’t rid his body of it now.”

Setanta smiled and passed her a bowl of something. “After we eat first.” There were droids present to serve them, but the knights were more archaic than modern. Waiting on themselves was not a problem.

Rey could not enjoy the meal knowing Ben was getting sicker. Finally unable to stand it any longer, she stood up and said, “Please have someone show me where he is.”

Conall wiped his mouth and stood up. “This way.”

Ben’s room was shrouded in black, not surprising to her, but in all that oppressive darkness his exposed skin gleamed pale and perfect. Laying her hand lightly on his forehead, she felt his sickness just beneath the skin, growing again. She touched his thoughts and found them confused. In that connection he reached for her, and she permitted it. He was so lonely and hurt. Gently assuring him it would be all right, she tried to draw back, but that sent him into a panic. In his confused state he thought she was abandoning him. 

“This is what I had hoped to avoid. Are you willing to lay by his side until morning when we can finish the ritual?”

Rey knew she couldn’t leave him now. “Yes.”

“If you need anything, just ask and it will be provided. Good night.”

Conall had understated everything. If she was thirsty, a glass of water or whatever she desired appeared on the table beside the bed. Food came to her, delivered by invisible hands. And through the night, she slept beside Ben Solo, her hand somewhere on his body. It wasn’t enough that she was near him, she had to be touching him or he would panic.

When morning came the Knights returned and carried him back to the ritual room. Rey stood with them, more sure of herself this time, more determined to drive the poison out of his body. And this time she stood at his head, her hands on his temples. The power raised was blinding but this time when she felt the evil within him she knew what to do, and someone screamed but she didn’t know who. When they were finished, she knew without a doubt that Ben Solo was clean. Exhausted she sought the bed she shared with Rose.

How long she slept she did not know, but a knock on the door brought her around. Ansal had a message for her. “Master desires to know if you would like to swim?”

 

Kylo Ren, holding his breath, sat on the bottom of the heated pool and let his thoughts grow calmer. ‘This is not what I expected,’ the voice in his head told him.

‘ I asked her to join me,’ Kylo replied evenly.

‘Are you expecting her to grow gills and sit down here with you?’

‘I will know when she arrives.’

Ansal left Rey at the entrance to a subterranean pool lit by glowing lamps of magic. The water was crystal clear and she could see all the way to the bottom where Ben sat cross legged and nude.

He looked up and released a cloud of a bubbles from his lungs and rose to the surface. Rey took a step back from the water’s edge while he breached and came to rest at the edge of the pool. “You helped save my life, and I wanted to thank you.”

Rey smiled back at him. “You know I had to,” she replied. “If you died, I might have died also.”

Kylo Ren gave her a skeptical look, as if her answer wasn’t entirely the truth. “Join me, the water is warm,” he said and pushed away from the wall gliding effortless across the pool to the other side. Rey could not help but get a good view of his lean flank and powerful legs. It was a male body beautifully put together, 

“I have nothing to wear,” she protested.

“Neither do I,” he answered almost wickedly. “I promise you are safe in my presence. I will do nothing you do not want to happen.”

Rey told herself she knew better, but the pull was too great. “Turn around.”

Kylo Ren turned around. When he heard her step into the water, he asked, “May I turn back?”

“Yes,” she answered from the edge where she hung on for dear life. She didn’t know how to swim but the water was warm and soothing. “I don’t know how to swim,” she told him.

“Then I will teach you,” he replied and glided back to her. “Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you.”

Rey wasn’t afraid of him hurting her, but there were other things that could happen that she was afraid of.


	3. Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben Solo feels better but now he wants to go back and get shot at.

“How are you feeling?” Rey asked curiously, hoping to distract the carnal look in his dark eyes.

“Better,” he answered and took her hand in his, easing her into deeper water. “See, you are in no danger.” 

She was in great danger but not from violence, she mused and found herself being drawn to him. While he tred water, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to paddle her feet the way he did. Every so often he would scissor his legs and propel them a little higher out of the water.

“How did it happen?” she asked with a stern expression on her lovely young face. She was beginning to think this was a very big mistake.

“Would you rather see it than have me tell you?” he asked, the feel of her body next to his exciting. “Wrap your legs around my waist and I’ll show you.”

Rey knew she was walking into a trap, but she also knew nothing was going to happen. How was that even possible? Wrapping her legs around d his waist, most of her on his right side. Skin to skin, never more intimate, she found a scene playing out before her closed eyes. Hux, deceptively calm, was suggesting they go after the Resistance before they could build their forces back up. Crush them once and for all. Kylo Ren, tired of everything, just wanted to let them go and return to the occupied planets and rebuild their own forces.

Rey opened her eyes and stared at his face. “You wee going to let us go?”

Ben opened his eyes. “I’ve grown tired of chasing your friends across the galaxy.”

Rey considered it a moment and then closed her eyes, connecting once more with his memories. Hux nodded and went back to his own business. Kylo Ren left the bridge and in the passage encountered Capt. Phasma. She had something in her hands, a dart or thorn. There was only one place she could find bare skin. His throat. She did not strike at that time. She waited until he retired to his cabin and followed him there. An inconsequential report was her excuse for being there, and she caught him half dressed. He didn’t even notice the scratch until it started burning half an hour later. It didn’t take a genius to realize he had been poisoned. Rey felt his confusion and anger, saw his thoughts running wild in his head. Like hounds before a great wolf, they were waiting for him to sicken and die. He made it to The Silencer and escaped before they realized he was fleeing. The Tie Fighters sent after him were cut down with ease. Poe Dameron might be the best pilot in the Resistance, but he had nothing on Kylo Ren.

There was something else she could sense. He had not been alone. 

‘Oh she’s a keeper,’ the voice told his son.

Rey couldn’t see him, but she could hear him. “Han Solo!” she exclaimed, surprised by the connection between father and son. Han really loved his son.

‘Hi, kid.’

“How is this possible?” she asked urgently.

‘It’s hard to explain.’

“He’s moved into my head,” Ben answered with an amused smile.

‘Not really,’ the voice countered. ‘Let’s just say I’m hedging my bets.’

“He’s keeping me alive.”

Rey smiled. They were close enough to kiss, and she wanted to feel his lips on hers. They looked so soft and tender. Not hard or…he leaned towards her and kissed her. So soft, so tender, his lips parted and she found herself sparring with his tongue. For a moment she was afraid that it would grow into something more, something she wasn’t sure she was ready for.

He drew back and whispered, “Not here, not now.”

Rey was grateful for that. With a ragged breath, she asked, “What are you going to do now?”

“We can retire to my bed,” he offered hopefully.

“I mean about Hux and Phasma.”

He smiled. “Can’t blame a guy for wishful thinking.”

‘That’s my line,’ the voice in their heads responded.

“And we are never going to do it with him here,” she vowed. “But I still meant Hux and Phasma.”

Ben Solo kissed her on the forehead and replied, “I’m going to kill them.”

“How? You can’t very well go back there. Everyone knows you.”

“That’s actually an advantage,” Ben replied. “The troops are terrified of me, I can throw them into a panic easily.”

“They’ll also start shooting/”

“Yes, they will,” he agreed, “but that’s easy to defend against.” Looking at her delicious lips, he asked, “Maybe we can postpone the swimming lesson and retire to my room?”  
Rey was afraid of crossing this final threshold. He could feel it. “When you are ready then,” he decided and rolled on his back with her holding on to his shoulder.

“I didn’t say anything,” she protested, him on his back pulling her across the pool. There was no avoiding ‘the look’. ”You’re shameless,” she teased.

“Take a deep breath and hold it,” he said with a smile. Two seconds later he was pulling her underwater. She struggled for a moment and then realized he was not trying to drown her. Somewhere in their connection she discovered she could swim and kicked her legs like a frog, following him down to the bottom of the pool. A large flat rock rose from the bed.

‘I was kidding about the gills,’ the voice echoed in both of their heads.

Ben positioned her so she was facing north and pointed. On the wall of the pool was a picture, a long ago testimony to another man’s love for a woman. Rey’s mouth dropped open, and effortlessly she glided towards the image carved into the stone. Looking back at Ben, the question on her face, she was amazed even more when Ben nodded.

Pushing herself to the surface, she waited for her to join him and then asked, “How? How did he do it? I didn’t think….”

“I don’t know,” Ben replied eagerly. “Let’s go back to my room.”

Rey couldn’t help but grin. “Tonight,” she promised before she could stop herself. His grin faded into one of pure raw anticipation. Leaning in, he kissed her and it wasn’t chaste or friendly. Rey had never been consumed by so much passion and desire. She could feel it hot and heavy within him. Stroking his face when they both came up for air, she said. “We should get out of the water, don’t you think?” 

He smiled. “After you,” he said and eased her towards the water’s edge. Making sure she didn’t slip, he watched her climb out of the water first, admiring her shapely legs and butt. How was he going to survive until nightfall? 

She looked back and smiled as he climbed out of the water behind her. Damn he was fine. 

Although no one had entered the cavern, there were clean clothes present. Ben’s were basic black, but Rey’s had a little more style to them with little yellow flowers at the neck. “Who does this?” she asked curiously, no longer shy about dressing in front of him or watching him dress.

 

Chewie and Rose watched Finn and Celtchar duel with wooden swords in a formal garden, the mountains rising so high in the distance that they provided a breath taking back drop for the exercise. Chewie roared softly at the approach of Kylo Ren and Rey. The Knights watching the duel all rose to their feet from their lounging. 

“You look better,” Conall remarked his approval.

“I am, thank you,” Kylo said and clasped his friend’s forearm.

“When do we leave?”

“Soon,” Kylo assured him. 

“So you are going back there?” Finn asked curiously. “You six are going to take on the entire First Order? By yourselves.”

“You can join us,” Conall offered.

“On a suicide mission?” Finn asked. “Let me think about it a moment. No.”

“You know seven would be a lucky number,” Cet spoke up and eyed Rey curiously. 

Rey frowned at him and then looked up at Ben. “He’s right. I’ll need to come along.”


	4. Becoming One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben have the ultimate Force connection

Finn and Rose found themselves alone and unsupervised and decided it wouldn’t hurt to check out the lower levels of the castle. After getting turned around once or twice they found themselves back in the subterranean chamber that held the Knight’s ship. Everything about the ebony vessel reminded them of something organic like a preying mantas or a nightmare crustacean. Within it’s open maw waited the Silencer, Kylo Ren’s fighter.

Finn realized that even though Kylo was on his best behavior, he did not really trust the man. Kylo Ren was a wolf waiting to shred them in his bloody jaws. Finn believed this in his heart of hearts. Kylo Ren could not be trusted.

Thinking that maybe it wasn’t wise to go any farther into the ship, Finn grabbed Rose’s arm and said, “We better not.” There was just something dark about the ship that spooked him.

Leaving the ship, they found Cet waiting at the foot of the ramp. “Need a guide?” he asked cordially.

“We were just looking,” Finn quickly explained. “We didn’t touch anything.”

“I know. Perhaps you would like to rejoin your hairy friend on the Falcon for a little while? What’s his name, Chewie?”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Finn agreed. Rose nodded in agreement.

Cet led them outside into a late afternoon sun beginning its ascent behind the mountains. “We will be serving supper in an hour,” he told them as they passed through a grove of tall trees and found the Millennium Falcon waiting, it’s hatch open and Chewie standing there.

Cet did not stick around. After dropping them off with Chewbaca, he continued on his way. Looking up at the dark stoned castle, Rose said, “It’s not a place I would have voluntarily walked into.” Chewie grunted in agreement. 

Rey hefted the long staff in her hands and gazed at her opponent across the hot sandy floor. Celchar was cut like a greyhound, not an ounce of fat on his body. He was going to be quick. Her one chance was to get her staff between his long legs and trip him. For a moment the knight and his master made eye contact, and Rey saw the thoughts that were passing between them.

“No,” she spoke up. They both looked at her. Stepping up to Ben, her expression firm, she said, “I will not have him pulling his attack for fear of you.” Keeping her eyes on his face was proving to be a little difficult. Ben Solo and his knights were only slightly modest on her account, and it was the most male flesh that she had ever seen. Nice muscular male flesh, and the thought made her grin as she gave into temptation and looked him up and down like a buyer appraising a racing steed.  
Ben Solo returned her grin and said, “I’ll not have him endangering you.”

“You’ll get your entertainment,” Rey reminded him to the amused comments of the knights. 

“And you yours,” Ben retorted good naturedly. Turning back to Celchar, he said, “You are at her mercy.”

Rey wasn’t sure what that meant, but Celchar, without a doubt the homeliest of the knights, was not going to be a push over. They entered the sandy arena, the ground warm beneath their bare feet. Neither one felt the need to show off and got down to it, staff striking staff almost like the tattoo of a drum. Celchar was fast, very fast, and he pushed Rey to be even quicker to anticipate his moves. A second later he was on his back with her staff pressed into the sand beside one ankle.

“The mouse attacks the feet,” Niesei laughed.

“I nip at toes too,” Rey retorted with a grin. “Perhaps you would like to try me?”

Niesei raised his hands and declined. “You are linked to our master, and when we fight you, we fight him.”

“Now that would be an interesting fight,” Conall spoke up.

“Rey and I have already fought,” Kylo answered with a smile, his eyes on Rey.

“Indeed?” Conall replied curiously. “And who won?”

“We are both standing,” Kylo answered and took Celchar’s staff from him. 

Rey, sensing she was about to go one on one with Ben, she refused to call him Kylo even in front of his men, met his dark gaze and saw not anger or determination in his eyes but something akin to lust. His body, still bearing the scars of Chewie’s bow caster and her lucky hits with a light saber, moved with an animal grace that she had not noticed before. If all things were truly equal, his size alone would overpower her. And he knew it.

Rey suddenly realized what he was doing. “You’re trying to distract me,” she remarked only half accusingly. He was now standing in front of her, close enough to touch.

“The Force allows us to do many things, some harsh and…some not so harsh.”

“We’ve had this conversation before,” she said in a low voice while admiring the view. Then while he was preening, she tapped him hard on the shoulder with her staff. “You distract yourself.”

“Indeed,” he almost laughed .

They parried a moment before getting serious. Rey discovered that an unwounded Kylo Ren was a formidable animal playing with her. All he was doing was blocking her and making teasing strikes at her legs. “Your arrogance will be your undoing,” she warned and stepped back to view her opponent now as an opponent. “And this is an unfair match because you will never hurt me.” Oh, the darkness in his eyes went nova. Rey could see the lust flaring in their depths. Sex and violence burned within her ‘boy’. It occurred to her that she was feeding it, and since he wasn’t going to hurt her. 

Rey growled loudly and attacked. Ben blocked the blows but clearly he didn’t like being at the disadvantage. Doing a spin that had her moving past him, he reached out with his arm and grabbed her around the waist. An intimate squeeze and he released her. The grin on his face said it all, he was enjoying himself. Rey redoubled her efforts, but this time when her would be lover did his little spin, she reached out and allowed her hand to swipe him intimately. He strode away with a look of surprise on his face.

“I see where this is going,” Celchar remarked in boredom.

“Perhaps we should retire and let the game continue without interruption?” Niesei teased.

“That will be hers later,” Ben stated wickedly as Rey realized very quickly her mistake. Only Conall spared her the laughs of the other men.

“It is nearly dinner, if you would like to retire and clean up,” the second said kindly. “Do you need an escort?”

“No, I think I can find my way,” Rey said and let the staff fall towards Ben. He caught it and inclined his head. 

 

Chewie looked at the food on the table. There was a lot of it and it smelled good. Waiting when you are starving is always so hard. Since coming here, he had been treated well but there had been no conversations between him and Ben. Granted Ben had been poisoned and dying but the Wookie had expected something from the human, from the child he had loved as a little boy. 

Sensing someone was coming, he looked up and found himself staring into the face of an uncertain Kylo Ren. Or was he now Ben Solo? “Chewie,” the man said and set his light saber on the table before circling it.

Chewie hesitated a moment. Memories of another time before they sent Ben away flooded the Wookie’s mind. He also remembered how that same boy that he had once loved drove a light saber through his father. How could he do that?

“I’m sorry,” Ben said barely above a whisper. “I miss him too.”

Chewie looked at the young man, at unshed tears and something inside of his heart thawed. If Han’s sacrifice helped save his son, then to Han it would be worth it. Chewie could not keep the grudge. With a soft growl, Chewie forgave Ben Solo. 

“Something smells good,” Rose said as she and Finn entered the dining room.

Ben smiled and turned away from Chewie. “I hope you find my hospitality adequate?” Everyone was arriving now, including Rey in something silvery and not quite so modest.

“Rose insisted,” she said and stood behind the chair that she had used previously.

“Rose has excellent taste,” Ben said approvingly. “Please, be seated.”

Midway through the meal, the elephant in the room was breached. “How are we going to make Hux and his bitch pay for what they did?” Ansal asked curiously.

“It’s not like we can sneak up on them,” Cet added,

“I’ve not thought it out yet,” Kylo answered honestly. “We’ll need to discuss it tomorrow.”

Finn, not one to mince words anymore, spoke up, “If Rey is in on this, I am too.”

“And me,” Rose added while Chewie added his voice to the list.

“Your army,” Conall mused.

“It’s a good one,” Kylo said and took a sip of wine, his eyes lighting warmly on Rey. “A very good one.”

 

Rey would not say she was afraid, but she was. Except for some horseplay in front of the Knights, Ben was nothing but a gentleman. But she could feel him lurking in some dark place inside of her. He needed her, wanted her, ached for her, but if she decided at the last minute to back out, he would accept it. The effect would be devastating, shattering his heart into a million pieces, but he would accept it without protest. Disappointment was an old friend of his. 

Maybe it was cliché, but Ben led her outside on a balcony where they could see the water below and a crescent moon overhead. It touched her warmly the way he was trying so hard to say and do the right thing. Since neither of them had ever gone this far with anyone, they were at a loss for words. Rey decided that if neither of them knew what to say then perhaps…she touched his cheek. He gasped and turned to her, his hand closing over hers. She could feel his need like some great beast rising up through his body and into hers. He could feel her …love. He could feel her love! And hope! 

What do lovers do? Panic hit him, and she smiled. “Kiss me.”

Kiss her? He devoured her lips and cheeks and eyelids, brow and back to her lips, and the contact was electric. Passionate! He was greedy! She responded to him with her own need matching his. He would lay her across a stone bench and take her right there if she didn’t stop him. Laying her hand over his heart, she lightly pushed him back. Terror filled his eyes, for although he could feel her emotions, he could not read her thoughts. 

“I would rather lie in a bed,” she admitted breathlessly.

He stared at her a moment as if the concept was alien to him. A bed? Yes! His bed! They were going to make love in his bed. His bed! Make love! His bed! Yes. Regaining his composure least they run into someone, he offered her his arm. So nonchalant it made Rey grin. Big bad Kylo Ren was a nervous boy.

Fortunately they didn’t run into anyone. Ben probably would have panicked for fear Rey would run away. She was just glad they didn’t run into any of the Knights. She would deal with them tomorrow but not tonight.

His room was black and dark purple, but a curtain pulled back showed the crescent moon and a million stars in the sky. A light breeze billowed the drapes and cooled the chamber. Rey could only imagine the view in the morning. When she turned back to him, he was standing there looking so afraid it touched her deeply. Had people run from him all his life? She was certain they hadn’t meant to hurt him, but the wounds on his heart were deeper than the ones on his body.

Trying to make him smile, she suggested, “What if we undress ourselves and jump under the covers?”

He considered it a moment. “That would work,” he agreed. “Can I watch?”

“Can I watch you?”

He smiled.

Ben Solo was a beautiful man, long legged and muscular, but not so muscular as to lose his grace. The scars enhanced his beauty instead of taking away from them, and Rey knew she would have to touch each one and feel the memory. She could also feel Ben’s fear. He was afraid she was going to find fault with him and leave. 

A moment of awkward silence, and they agreed to get under the covers. Rey couldn’t help but grin that big bad Kylo Ren was even more unsure of himself than she was, which actually gave her more confidence. He wouldn’t know anymore than she did if they were doing it right or not. What neither of them counted on was the power of their connection.

Skin to skin, everything in her hands, she kissed him and the air sizzled with ancient wisdoms. Asking him to lie back with hands, her lips never leaving his, she found herself fighting to remain herself, the Force pulling her towards some great unknown. Whatever was happening, Ben had already surrendered to it. Climbing over him, sitting on the flat plain of his belly, she stared down into passion mad eyes. He wanted this so much, he was in pain. Running her hands over his face, over the scar that lingered on his skin, she felt but did not feel the burn that put it there. And she kissed his brow. His hands needing something to do found her breasts. 

Rey realized it was not enough to tell Ben she loved him; she had to show him. His left shoulder bore the scar of a light saber not inflicted by her. She slid down enough to lean over and kiss it. Through his memories she saw Finn’s lucky strike. Bracing herself with her hands on his breast, she kissed the other scar, and saw herself. 

Looking up into his wild eyes, she saw her power over him. This magnificent male belonged to her if she just accepted him. He would die for her if she would have him.

The covers fell away as she rose on her hands and knees. He was half out of his mind as she moved lower to the terrible scar on his side. She touched it and saw the turmoil in his mind. Kylo Ren should have died but the Force allowed him to live. There was still a part of him that believed death was his ultimate fate.

She turned her eyes to that uniquely male part of him. He gasped when she lifted it in her hand and studied it a moment. So hot and heavy. A pearl of clear liquid beaded on the head. Innocence did not mean ignorance. Remembering things she had heard on Jakku from crude men, she placed her lips on the smooth rounded head and tasted him. He clawed the sheets. If she would just surrender to their connection.

Rey relented and found herself within his mind and he within hers. Passion sharp and sweet threatened to consume her, and it frightened her, or was it frightening him? More animal now than human, she crawled up his body. Staying on all fours, she reached around and grabbed that perfect male part. Her lover was trembling at the core of his being, lust replacing fear. He grabbed her shoulders and waited. Holding his cock in one hand, she moved back until the head was slick with her juices. This was it. Rey mounted him, his cock sliding deep inside of her. Almost screaming from a strange lust, she tried to catch her breath. Her heart was racing, and it took her a moment to realize it was beating in time with his. Everything that made them individuals was burned away in the passion of their mating.

Ben Solo sat up and took her apart. Screaming against his shoulder, her teeth locking on his body, she came apart and rode the waves of passion. He could feel her orgasm, feel it and feed it, his body trembling on the edge of the same precipice. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he moved again, placing himself over but not on her. His spine slipped and Rey found herself drowning in his passion. Opening her eyes, staring at the wide expanse of his breast, she grabbed his nipples and pinched them. Ben pounded into her. Bracing on his hands, he fucked her as hard as his could. His spine was a piston driving his cock in and out of her. When he came apart, she felt it, felt the piercing sweetness. In that moment they were one animal, with one heart and one brain. Rey knew everything there was to know about Ben Solo and he her.

There was also a moment of sadness. There would never be a time like this again. But it didn’t really matter. The rest of the night they explored each other the way other mortals did. And there was something delicious about sitting in a tub of hot water and being able to lean forward and kiss her lover at will, knowing that he belonged to her.

“I love you,” he whispered against her lips.

“I know.”

Hey, that’s my line!


	5. Plans and more plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo/Ben has a plan to get back on Hux's ship.

Ben awoke alone and panicked until he felt Rey’s presence being both reassuring and whimsical. He smiled and wiped his face. She was outside enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face. Grabbing the trousers off the floor he took care of his morning business before joining her outside. Much to his amazement she was nude and actually looked disappointed at his trousers.

She stood up from the ornate bench and wrapped her arms around his waist while lifting her face for a kiss. Ben could not imagine any sensation sweeter than her kisses, although a wicked part in his head said ‘of course there are sweeter things’. And he being a young man too long denied those things, his body responded quickly and easily. “Come back to bed,” he whispered against the side of her head.

“Greedy,” she teased but was just as willing to pick up where they left off. She loved the way he caught his breath when she ran the side of her face over his erection and let her hair tickle the swollen head. A flick of her tongue had him squeezing his eyes shut and trying to arch his hips. So much power over such a powerful male. It was intoxicating. Rey took as much of his cock into her mouth and sucked greedily on it. His groans only fueled her passion. Raising her head, she looked up his gorgeous body, at the hunger in his eyes, and they way he watched her with anticipation and need in his eyes. Moving higher, she raised on her knees and took the swollen shaft into her hand. His eyes burned as she ran her thumb over the leaking head. So beautiful, so sexy, so….she mounted him, the long thick shaft sliding smoothly inside of her.

Slowly methodically she started to ride his cock, his pubic bone rubbing against her most tender part. She ground against him, her heat merging with his. Holding her by the waist, he felt himself merging with her fire, until he couldn’t tell when he ended and she began. They were one living creature. Rey cried out softly as she came against his body. He slowly and carefully rolled her on her back. She whimpered when his cock slid out of her for a moment and stroked her pussy. She fell apart again as he stroked her, but the moment his need became unbearable, he slipped back inside of her and buried himself deep. 

Rey automatically grabbed his nipples and pinched them lightly at first and then harder. Ben lost it. He fucked her as hard as he could and made a wounded animal noise when he slammed into her and froze. Rey made him raise his head and marveled at the passion taking control of him. A moment later he was smiling. 

 

Rose, Finn and Chewie were finishing breakfast when Rey and Kylo Ren, complete with slicked back wet hair on both of them, appeared. Rose nudged Finn and grinned. Conall, who had eaten earlier, appeared and took a seat beside Kylo. They needed to talk.

Rey was grateful for Conall’s interruption as it took Rose’s polite curiosity off her, although the topic scared her. Conall wanted to know what they were going to do about Hux.

“Kill him,” Ben answered without malice as he dug into his food.

“Of course, but how?” Conall asked and poured himself some coffee.

“I’m thinking on it,” Ben replied. “I remember something that might work for us to get on board his ship.”

Conall smiled. “And?”

“Cloaking. I’ll look into it and let you know.”

Conall nodded and glanced from Ben to Rey. Mercifully he didn’t say anything. “Sleep well?” Rose asked with a big grin on her face. If anyone else had asked such a ridiculous question, Ben probably would have gotten angry, but Rose was Rey’s friend. She could embarrass Rey as many times as she wanted and he wouldn’t say a thing.

“Well, yes, quite well,” Rey answered and frowned at the other woman. Was Rose just impervious to her discomfort? And it wasn’t from sleeping with Ben! Ben? “You need to enlighten me on your plans,” she said and gazed up at him. 

“We need to go over it but not now.”

“You know they are looking for you,” Conall reminded him.

Ben smiled and it was pure evil. “I hope they are.”

After breakfast they all met in a war room that was highly advanced for a bunch of guys who practiced an old religion. Finn was impressed with the technology these guys had tucked away in this old castle.

“I want to show you something,” Ben said to Rey.

Force Users always had an aura around them, a glow that told another Force User they were in the presence of one. Right in front of her eyes he closed off his aura and diminished himself until he seemed to stop existing. The effect on Finn and Rose was more remarkable.

“He just faded away,” Rose said anxiously.

“A void in the Force,” Rey murmured, his memories and knowledge locked away inside of her.

Ben returned to full force and said, “Exactly. This is how we,” and he motioned to the Knights, “will return to find Hux.”

“I can not do that,” Rey said.  
“But you can cloak yourself,” Ben told her. “You can use the force to hide yourself from sight.”

Rey knew he was right, but she also instinctively knew as she was right now, she would not be able to keep it up long. “I see there are advantages to the dark side,” she opined. 

“Sometimes,” Ben agreed with a faint smile.

“Kylo,” Cet spoke up. “I recognize my lady’s power in the light, but she is also drawn to your darkness. Could she not learn how to walk in the darkness?”

Ben gazed at his love, at the brilliant light radiating from her soul and could not stand the thought of losing it. What if she never returned? “Practice your natural gift. If the time ever presents itself, I will help you.”

Finn found all of this fascinating, but there were three individuals in the room who couldn’t make themselves just disappear.

“How do storm troopers disappear?”

Finn smiled. “We could do that.”

“Good. Do we have an image of the ship that attacked you? That’s where we’ll find Hux.”

“Would I be doing my job if I didn’t have it’s plans?” Ansal asked and pulled up a hologram.


	6. Hux makes an unplanned move

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux decides to go after the Resistance. Rey must leave Kylo.

How do you practice cloaking when the only non Force sensitive humans are your friends? Finn and Rose were more than willing to help Rey practice, but it eventually got boring. Rose seemed more intent upon helping Rey perfect her skills, but Finn lost interest after awhile. “Here – not here.” Old fast. What he wanted to know was why Rey was doing this.

“You could be walking into a trap,” he cautioned her. “This IS the guy who wanted to kill me, remember?”

“I know, but he’s different now,” she assured her friend.

“I don’t know,” Finn replied. “I don’t trust it.”

Ben and Knights worked hours on blanking themselves in the Force, becoming a hole in the very fabric of existence. Rey didn’t like it. Even when Ben was at his worst Kylo Ren persona, she could still see him in the Force. Now they suppressed their presence until they were nonexistent and invisible to mortal eyes. Rey hated that she could not sense them, and Finn and Rose didn’t like that they could not see them when they passed. If this dark force power frightened Rey then they needed to be afraid as well. 

 

Love is a funny thing. It demands feeding it in the early days before settling into a comfortable shape years later. Rey lived for the darkness when everything was quiet but his breathing and the soft thud of his heart beneath her ear. He was so gentle with her that she wondered if he was afraid he was going to break her. He was also afraid she was going to leave him if he did anything wrong. She could sense that within him, that terrible doubt and fear. He still didn’t trust her. Turning over and rising on her elbows, she looked down at his slender face and smiled. His mouth was made for kissing, full and tender, and she took advantage of it. So soft and tender. He closed his eyes and Rey lost herself in the emotion that swelled between the two of them.

His arms tightened around her body, and she felt the flame of passion leap through his blood. Lust flared. Bound by an invisible thread, they felt and fed each other’s desire. Sleep, the enemy, insisted they rest, but neither wanted to. Rey wanted to touch him, to kiss him, to awaken sensations in his body that he had never felt before. She wanted him to do the same to her, to meld his body with hers until there was no way to tell the other apart.

Joined together, his cock buried deep inside of her, his face close to hers, they breathed the same air and simply merged into a perfect being. Two halves of a whole. Fire shot between them burning away his resistance to it. Rey gasped and found herself sinking into a warm pool of water or his blood. Unable to go any farther he wrapped her in his arms and closed his eyes.

Rey woke first. With the light of day chasing away the darkness of his room, she sat up looked at his peaceful face, smiling at how innocent he looked. Disheveled never looked so good on anyone. Climbing out of bed she ran to the bathroom to take a shower. 

Ben awoke to someone knocking on his bedroom door. At first he was afraid Rey was gone, but he felt her playing in the water. Sitting up in bed he hit a switch on his night table and opened the door. Conall and Celtchar entered his room.

“Sorry to disturb you,” Conall apologized, “but I thought you would want to know this as soon as possible.”

Kylo rubbed his face and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Hux is going after the resistance.”

Kylo frowned. “Are you sure?”

“The Wookie has verified it.”

“Damn. Rey will want to go to their aide.”

Rey, dressed, stepped out of the bathroom and heard this. “What’s going on?” she asked suspiciously.

“General Hux is not coming after me. He’s going after the resistance.”

“How does he know where they are?” she demanded anxiously.

“Computerized tracking,” Conall answered. “He is assuming you will be there and bring Kylo to you.”

Rey stared at the knight and then turned to Kylo. “Ben, I have to go help them.” He stood up, nude and perfect, so powerful and sensuous. Scars marred that perfection but instead of distracting from his beauty, they enhanced it. “I’m not leaving you,” she assured him.

He turned to her, his head cocked. “A short detour perhaps?” he replied. “Never mind, go to them. We will follow at a distance. He’ll be looking for you to use as bait to catch me.”

“I won’t let him catch me.”

“It might be better for us if you did allow him to catch you,” Kylo Ren replied. “He’ll be looking for me and lose interest in your friends.”

Rey blinked back her surprise. This made sense to her. “I can’t risk Finn and Rose. I will have to take them to the base.”  
“Do what you must,” he said and approached her. After a night of unbridled passion, his kiss on her forehead seemed almost chaste. “Take no unnecessary risks.”

“I won’t, but I fear you won’t be as cautious.”

“I’m going to kill Hux and Phasma.”

“Don’t let them kill you,” Rey said as she gathered her things to leave. “I will be terribly disappointed if you do.” He smiled and waved her away as he headed towards the shower.

Running through the castle, she hurried down to the lower levels past the dark ship of the Knights to the Millennium Falcon where Chewie, Rose and Finn waited for her.

“I was afraid you weren’t coming,” Finn admitted as Rey hurried to take the seat beside Chewie. 

The Falcon lifted from the ground and from her position she could see a figure wrapped in a black cloak watching her leave, the wind whipping his hair into an ebony flame. For a distracted moment she feared she would never see him again. No, that was not possible. He had to survive. Look at all the times she had tried to kill him and had been unable to.

 

Kylo Ren returned to his bedchamber from the balcony. The memory of her beautiful body beneath his was still fresh in his mind. He could smell her on the pillow that he held close to his face; there was still some warmth in the sheets from where she slept. He put the pillow down and walked purposefully to his closet. Time to focus on the hunt. He would give Rey a day to get ahead of him before he followed. 

The sky was pitch black when the Ravager left its hangar and climbed into the moonless sky.


	7. The hunters become the hunted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux isn't an idiot. He hires someone from Kylo's past to do what he and Phasma had been unable to do.

Hux’s plan was simple, destroy the Resistance and Kylo Ren, but to kill a force user properly, as he now believed, required another force user. The creature standing before him was a dark force user who in another time might have been considered a Sith. Having him on the ship was dangerous, but the rewards to Hux far out weighed the risk. The creature standing in front of him belonged to a race of humanoids called the Arusan, blue skinned and black haired. But his lower half was robotic, and he seethed with anger and hate. Q’rdon was one of the few beings to survive a light saber duel with Kylo Ren, but the cost had been terrible and he had a score to settle. The men with him were a shabby lot of mercenaries belonging to different races and numbered ten.

“Remember I don’t want the female hurt until we have Kylo Ren in our grasp. If he thinks she’s dead he will be more cautious and more dangerous,” Hux explained again for the hundredth time.

“You’re sure he’ll come to her?” Q’rdon asked, his voice sounding remarkably like a snake trying to talk. Another reminder of a battle lost to Kylo Ren.

“She flies an old Corellian freighter with a Wookie. They were there when the Knights of Ren arrived to save him,” Capt. Phasma answered. “They took her with them.”

Q’rdon made an amused clicking sound and glanced back at his men. “So Ren has a whore.”

“I would not underestimate her,” Hux cautioned them. “Whatever their connection, they were able to kill Snoke and his guards by themselves.”

Q’rdon glanced back at Hux, curiosity etched on his lean skeletonus face. “They have a connection? Better. I’ll have Ren screaming back here. Just get her to me.”

 

Rey dropped out of hyperspace on the dark side of the planet and entered atmosphere to find the resistance unable to leave and hunkering down for a fight to the death. The newly acquired X-wing fighters had arrived just in time, along with resistance pilots from allied worlds.

“I wasn’t expecting you back so quickly,” Poe said as they hurried back to the control center where General Organa stared at a monitor over head. She turned upon hearing Poe’s voice. 

“Rey,” she greeted affectionately and clasped her hands. “Is he all right?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Finn replied. “He’s coming for Hux.”

Leia’s face brightened a moment. “Ben is coming here?”

“Yes, but I need to help him,” Rey explained and detected Poe’s frown.  
“No, we need you here,” he countered. “We need every man and woman to defend the base. The First Order is coming, and we have to hold out until the Abednedos and the Zabrak get here. There are others who have offered aid, but until they show up, I won’t count them.”

“I have to help him,” Rey persisted. “He’s counting on me to be there.”

“Be where?” Leia asked curiously.

“The Finalizer,” Rey replied, hoping that at least the general would decide in her favor.

“And you support this?” Poe asked Finn and Rose.

“I don’t know what to think,” Finn answered, the uncertainly heavy in his voice. “The whole time we were there, he focused only on killing Hux and Phasma. It was all he could think about.”

Rey waited for Finn to say more, but thankfully this time he added nothing new. She glanced at her friend and saw that he was not going to tell any one about her and Kylo’s relationship. Rose was also staying quiet.

Glancing down, her thoughts as confused as her emotions, she took a deep breath before looking up. Meeting Poe’s dark eyes, she said, “Ben Solo and I have a bond. It was created by the Force, and he’s counting on me to help him.”

Finn added, “He’s got his knights with him.”

“The students who left with him,” Leia said almost to herself, her mind seeing things that the others could not visualize. The greatest heartbreak was knowing her son had destroyed everything her brother had built. 

“Snoke did not trust them,” Rey explained quickly. “He would not let them stay with Ben.”

“I still don’t like it,” Poe said but then added, “but you do what you need to do. Right now Hux is just orbiting around like he’s waiting for something.”

Rose looked at Rey and said, “He’s waiting for Ben.”

Rey needed to let Ben know that Hux was waiting for him, and she was certain he could feel her concern, their bond was now that strong, but she needed to tell him what he was coming to. Looking at Leia, she said, “I need to talk to him.”

“You can do that?”

“Yes, but I need to do it in private.”  
Leia looked surprised by the revelation but quickly said, “My quarters.” 

Rey frowned a moment, she had her own quarters, but the look on Leia’s face almost ached with need. A quick nod and the two women walked back to the general’s private room. Once the door locked, Rey reached out with her feelings to find her dark lover. A few seconds later she felt a shift in the Force and there was Ben. She could hear Leia’s gasp behind her.

Ben looked from his lover to his mother, and the intensity of his gaze softened for a moment. “Mother,” he greeted.

“Ben,” Leia replied and moved closer, afraid to touch him least something happen to the connection, but longing so much to hold the young man who had once been the light of her life.

“Is this why you summoned me?” Ben asked Rey.

“No. Hux is in orbit but just sitting there like he’s waiting for something. Where are you?”

“Another day away. I wanted you to have enough time to take care of any problems with your friends.”

Rey smiled. “Thoughtful, but I fear he’s setting a trap.”

“Then you need to stay away from his ship until I get there. We can assault it together.”

“Agreed,” Rey replied. The look in his eyes changed to something more intimate. She held out her hand and he clasped it and pulled her to him. One sweet tender kiss before he disappeared.

 

A solitary craft fell through atmosphere like a shooting star. It was detected by the Resistance but written off as planetary debris. Crashing in a field several kilometers from the Resistance base, no one paid it any mind. Once darkness settled around them a hatch opened and a creature whose body was half organic, half metallic emerged. He only had a few hours to grab the woman and get back to the Finalizer. 

He had sensed the shift in the Force when the woman and Kylo Ren contacted each other. She was very powerful in the Force because of her connection to Ren, but he had hunted other Force sensitives before. The woman was his for the taking.


	8. Prelude to War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Q'rdon gets his hands on Rey.

True darkness needs no light. Q’rdon moved through the night, a hole in the Force, invisible to all. To maintain this type of invisibility required great concentration, but his mind was sharp and alert to everything around him. He could feel the weariness of the Resistance fights, the fear in some and anger in others. General Organa, powerful in the Force, did not notice when he passed, although he could feel her worries and hopes like a blanket over her. The one he was seeking, the woman they called Rey was sitting in a canteen with her friends, two men and a woman. They were playing cards. She was young and pretty, a bright light beckoning to someone lost in the darkness. 

She was a light in the Force.Light to Ren’s darkness although Q’rdon could sense there was darkness within her as well. It was possible that he could take her with the men at the table, but he didn’t want to engage in a battle just yet. So he waited for her to tire and seek her own bed. The one thing he had was patience, lots of it courtesy of her lover. 

There was a time when a nude lithesome female could arouse him, but that was before the fight with Ren. Ren. Ren was going to pay for leaving him alive, more machine than human. He would see to it that Ren lived long enough to see his pretty little whore gutted like a corebeast, hanging head down with her entrails spilling out on the floor. 

He waited for Rey to crawl under her pale sheets and dim the light. Her broken light saber in the process of being repaired lay on the nightstand beside her bed. She stared at the ceiling, a dark shadow over her head and opened the bond between her and Ren. Q’rdon could feel their emotions connecting. Ren was coming to her. She smiled as their thoughts intertwined intimately...sexually. Q'rdon waited for them to part and for her to drift off to sleep. A little gas sprayed over her face kept her asleep. Taking a powerful sedative out of his vest, he made sure it would be hours before she awakened. Picking her up, wrapping her in his darkness, he carried her back to his ship and returned to Hux.

“I don’t believe this,” Hux said in amazement as he viewed the scavenger. Q'rdon had captured Ren's mistress and gotten away with her unnoticed. Simply amazing.

“Believe it, and if you have any sense you will keep her sedated,” Q’rdon warned Hux as Rey was placed on a gurney with a sedative dripping slowly into her arm. “Keep her deep under until I need her to revive. Ren will be here by morning, and he’ll start looking for her.”

“Tomorrow morning?” Hux asked apprehensively. “Perhaps I need to increase security.”

“Do what you will. I and my men will retire to wait him.”

Hux didn’t know if he could retire. Ren had promised to kill him and here he was with Ren’s whore lying naked on a gurney being pushed to medical. The medical droids would make sure she stayed sedated, but what was going to happen then? And where was Phasma. Shouldn’t she be here as well? Pulling a communicator out of his coat pocket, he spoke into it, “Capt. Phasma, where are you?”

“En route.”

“Meet me at medical.”

When Phasma arrived the medical droids had moved the young woman to a bed where she could be strapped down. Nice. “You sent for me?” she asked the general.

“You need to have a detail on constant watch. Ren will be here in the morning. He will be looking for her. I want you to be ready.” 

Phasma automatically posted guards around the young woman and then covered her with a sheet. The disrespect had been obvious, and for whatever reason, Capt. Phasma found it distasteful. “Make sure she doesn’t wake up.”

 

Leia looked up at the brightening sky at the dark star frigate cutting through the atmosphere leaving a heavy white plasma trail behind it. He was here, her son was here! It seemed odd to her that Rey was not here to greet him, but she could feel the girl was still asleep. She’d send someone to wake her after she got to meet her son alone for the first time in almost a decade.

Poe and half the ground force on the base stood behind her…just in case. Leia could sense nothing but anticipation from her son. He was nervous and that amused her. The frigate landed perfectly near her and the hatch opened. Unable to contain herself she walked towards it towards the tall young man emerging from the ship ahead of his knights. When did he get so tall she felt tiny next to him? Tears clouded her eyes as his strong arms encircled her shoulders and held her tight. 

When he finally eased her back, she could see tears in his eyes. His dark eyes lifted and focused on the men behind her. Poe was not giving him a friendly look, but that was to be expected. Finn and Rose had just arrived and she was grinning. Rose Tico was the most optimistic person he had ever met. “Where’s Rey?” he asked and felt her asleep, deep asleep, which it made no sense to him. “Where is she?”

“She’s been very tired lately,” Leia explained. “We’ll go wake her.”

The Knights stayed at Kylo’s back as they passed through the guards with the small woman leading them. Finn and Rose joined them along with the scowling commander. He had his own detail keeping an eye on them.

They stopped outside of Rey’s quarters, but Kylo already knew she wasn’t there. He could not feel her warmth or light. Fighting down a sudden panic, he opened the door and entered the room without knocking, surprising the men of the Resistance and his mother. Her bed was cold, the sheets barely rumpled, but her clothes! Her clothes were where she had laid them. Throwing open his mind he tried to find his lover, but all he felt was the deep sleep folded around her brain.

But he did feel someone else, someone he had not dealt with in a long time.  
Q’rdon smiled. Ren knew he was here. “Now to yank his chain,” the Arusan remarked to his grinning mercenaries. 

The woman was still deep under sedation, and someone had placed a sheet over her. “Tell Hux the games are about to being,” Q’rdon told one of the Stormtroopers. He pulled the sheet back and said, “Let’s see if Kylo is there yet.”

Hux did not like that Q’rdon wanted to contact the resistance base, but he had agreed to go along with the creature’s plans to lure Kylo Ren to his death. No doubt this would also throw the Resistance into a suicidal attack. One that he would be waiting for.

The communications officer on the Finalizer contacted the Resistance base and waited for a response. “This is Cdr. Dameron, who am I speaking with?”

Hux smiled. The voice on the other end was anxious and angry. Visuals came up and the general could see his adversary. ‘Cdr. Dameron, I have someone here who wants to speak with Kylo Ren. Is he there?”

“You talk to me,” Poe insisted.

Hux smiled and turned towards Q’rdon. “As you wish.”

Poe’s heart stopped at the sight of Rey, unconscious on a bed with a blue skinned cyborg creature standing beside her. The next thing he knew Kylo Ren was shoving him aside. “Q’rdon!” he growled menacingly.

Q’rdon laid his hand on Rey’s abdomen. “You’ve been busy,” the Sith born creature taunted. “Very busy.”


	9. The fight begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle on the Finalizer begins.

If Ben didn’t understand the implications behind Q’rdon’s comment, Leia certainly understood it, but it made no sense to her. She had sensed nothing when alone with the girl the previous day. If Ben didn’t understand, better to not enlighten him.

Unfortunately it was not in Rose’s nature to suppress her enthusiasm. “Oh my God,” she whispered to Finn behind Ben, “she’s pregnant.”

To his credit Ben did not react to the information. What Q’rdon could not see were Conall and Celtchar slipping away to return to Rey’s room. Finn followed and made sure Rose was with him. They found the two men looking over Rey’s double edged lightsaber. 

“What are you doing?” he demanded suspiciously.

“Making sure it works,” Celtchar answered and ignited the weapon. It growled once and then sprang to life. Conall took it the moment Celtchar turned it off and made a slight adjustment to the handle. A second test and it sprang to life quicker without the hiss. “She did a good job on putting it back together.”

“Very good,” Conall agreed and slipped the saber inside his long coat.

“What are you going to do with that?” Finn asked.

“Get it to her,” Conall replied and returned to Kylo’s side. 

Hux was on the monitor laying out terms of Kylo’s surrender, while he listened to them with a dark expression on his face. “This is nonnegotiable, Ren,” the general and new Supreme Leader reiterated. “The girl will be under constant watch, and if you do anything to indicate you will not surrender peacefully, we will kill her first.”

All eyes were on Kylo, his arms folded across his broad chest, his eyes darker than any had ever seen. “I agree to your terms,” he finally said. “I will be up shortly.”

The screen went blank before Kylo turned to Conall and asked, “ Do you have it?” Conall opened his coat. “You make sure she gets that.”

“You’ll need these also,” Rose said and handed Conall some clothes. 

Poe wasn’t sure how they were going to pull this off. “So you just fly up there and they let Rey go?”

“They won’t do anything to her as long as I’m alive,” Ben said and spared a glance at his mother. She wasn’t saying anything or even looking at him. It was something he had to do, and she wasn’t going to try to argue him out of it. To his men staying behind, he said, “You are to serve my mother as you would serve me.” They inclined their heads as a group.

“Come, we don’t have much time,” he told Conall and started for the exit.

“Wait. Hux said no one but you,” Poe stopped him. “If they see this guy, they’ll kill her.”

Kylo Ren didn’t say anything but threw a glance at Finn and Rose as if they had the answer already. Finn realized that he did know what was up and said in a guarded voice, “It’s all right. They know what they are doing.” 

Poe threw him a warning glance and then ran after the two dark Force users. He didn’t trust Kylo Ren or his knight, but clearly Finn and Rose did. He stopped and watched as Kylo’s unique Tie Fighter was hauled out of the frigate and a space was made behind his seat for Conall. The knight climbed in first and then Kylo Ren. 

Leia could not bare to see her son leave without saying, “Ben! Ben!” He looked down at her. “Be careful. I don’t want to lose you again.” He smiled and closed the hatch. Lying had never been one of his vices.

 

The Silencer lifted from the ground. Conall before wrapping himself in dark powers said, “This is going to make you very vulnerable.”

“She did the same for me,” he replied without offense.

Conall folded the darkness around him until he vanished. When the Silencer entered the hangar of the Finalizer, a welcoming committee of heavily armed Stormtroopers, Hux, Phasma and Q’rdon awaited Kylo. An armed Stormtrooper took Kylo’s lightsaber and handed it to Hux who looked it over once and passed it back to one of his officers.

“Welcome back, Supreme Leader,” Hux mocked Kylo and moved to stand in front of him. With hands behind his back, Hux stretched himself to look taller. He did not like the indifference he saw on Kylo’s face. Without warning he slapped Kylo as hard as he could. Blood erupted from a split lip and stained Kylo’s teeth. If Hux expected something, anything, from Kylo Ren, it was not the unearthly calm that had enveloped him. 

“Careful,” Q’rdon cautioned the general. “He still has a bite.”

Hux heeded the dark force user’s warning and took a step back. A quick motion of his hand brought a stormtrooper forward to secure Ren’s hands behind his back. Kylo didn’t resist the rough treatment. His mind was preoccupied with sweeping the ship searching for Rey. Phasma walked behind Kylo and hit him in the back of knees with her baton bringing him to the deck on his knees. 

Seeing how docile the mighty Kylo Ren was acting instilled Hux with confidence. “Not so big now, are we?” he taunted and waited for Kylo to say something, to say anything, but Ren remained mute. Irritated by his silence, Hux paced around him like a cat worrying a small animal. “This is what happens to traitors,” he practically crowed proud of his accomplishment. With his impatience getting the better of him, Hux grabbed a fistful of black hair and snapped, “Look at me when I speak to you!” He immediately regretted the order. The indifference he imagined he saw in Kylo Ren’s behavior was not in his eyes, for they were neither indifferent nor placid. Death dwelled in those dark eyes. Hux released him and took a step back.

“Prepare to execute, Capt. Phasma” he said in genuine fear.

“That was not our agreement,” Q’rdon said calmly. 

 

Conall passed unnoticed through the Finalizer. Unable to use his force powers to find Rey least he betray he presence, he needed to find the young woman quickly before Hux and Q’rdon killed Kylo. Finding her trail like a scent of something sweet and warm, he found her in the medical bay with two Stormtroopers standing watching. Freezing them where they stood, he returned to the light and leaned over the drugged woman. Removing the connections, he laid his hand on her forehead and found the spark that was awake and appealed to it.

Rey stirred and stared in surprise at Conall’s face and the state of her undress. She also felt something that chilled her to the bone. Ben was near but could not come to her. Conall handed her the clothing and boots that he had brought with him and waited before handing her the double sided lightsaber. They didn’t have a lot of time to act and had to hurry.

 

Kylo Ren shuddered in pain as Q’rdon ran Kylo’s own unique light saber down his body over exposed skin. “You shouldn’t have left me alive,” Q’rdon purred sadistically while Hux and Phasma watched in silence. Phasma thought this was a senseless waste of time, while Hux actually took pleasure in watching the Sith master skin his enemy alive. 

Rey knew they were insane, two Force users going against the entire stormtrooper corps of the Finalizer, but most of the soldiers they ran into simply got out of their way.

 

Q’rdon realized that his edge was over the moment Ren lifted his head and snarled. No power could contain him now that Rey was free. Acting quickly Q’rdon meant to cut through neck and spine with the red saber, but Kylo unleashed his own powers and the saber crackled and spit at its master’s call. Hux, staring wild eyed at Kylo, snapped “Shoot him!”

Suicidal troopers did as ordered and found their own weapons turned on them. Kylo Ren was free and intent on one thing, killing Q’rdon along with Hux and Phasma. Unable to keep Kylo Ren’s saber, Q’rdon released it and ignited his own weapon. Hux exited the space at a run. Without any kind of warning the Finalizer’s electrical circuits flashed and sputtered. The Knights of Ren! 

A voice suddenly came over the communication monitors, “You don’t have to die with them.” The Traitor! He was speaking to the crew. “Shut that down!” Hux ordered passionately. 

“You don’t have to die for them. The Resistance will set you free and let you go home, back to your own people.”

Hux stared in horror as people looked towards the speakers and actually considered the offer. “Get back to work!” he shouted and drew his weapon.

Rey arrived at the cells and found Ben and Q’rdon in a savage fight, the most brutal she had ever seen. Both men were bloodied and bearing the fresh scars of battle on their bodies. Hearing Finn’s voice telling the Stormtroopers that they didn’t have to die for the First Order invigorated her. 

“Find Hux!” Kylo yelled at Rey without taking his eyes off Q’rdon. The deck was already littered with Q’rdon’s wounded and dying mercenaries. Rey looked at Conall and then took off running towards the bridge with the knight beside her. Already Finn’s promise was having an effect on the crew. Even officers were letting her pass. Some of the Stormtroopers joined them.

“Where is Hux?” Rey demanded passionately.

One of the Stormtroopers asked the question and got an interesting answer back. Someone had seen Hux and Phasma together headed towards the bridge where they were preparing to attack the Resistance base with full cannons.


	10. conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey saves Ben again. Force ghosts make their appearance.

Rey and Conall ran as fast as they dared down the passage with a cadre of storm troopers behind them. Finn’s voice was still telling them they didn’t have to die for the First Order, that they could live and return to their families with the Resistance. Forces loyal to Phasma intercepted them in a shower of firepower. Rey left the troopers to cover their rear. They had to get to the bridge and stop Hux.

 

Phasma and two loyal troopers circled back to the area where Q’rdon and Ren were at a stalemate. Ren probably would have thrown the fight to the dark side user and gone to help Rey but this was personal for the bounty hunter. With a body that could not tire he drove Ren backwards.

The ship’s lights flashed as power surged through it. The same thing had happened when The dark frigate had shown up to take Ren away from them. The Resistance no doubt was hammering at their hull with their new fighters. Watching them from a covered walkway, Capt Phasma knew she had to kill Ren or he would kill her. Q’rdon was just taking too long in dispatching his enemy with those antique weapons. Using hand signals to convey her intentions to the troopers with her, she positioned them so a five way blast would hit Ren all at once. 

The Supremacy shook for the first time. All hell must be breaking loose out there. Four blasters hit Ren full on. The fifth hit Q’rdon, not their intended target, but he had gotten in the way of Phasma’s kill shot. Ren showing unimaginable power beheaded Q’rdon before he collapsed. Phasma knew better to check her kill. If Ren was only wounded he’d tear her apart.

 

Hux stared at the two force users and knew better than to underestimate Ren’s whore. Backed by Stormtroopers, she and the dark knight were taking command of the ship. The woman suddenly paled and looked at the dark knight with shock, pain and fear on her face. 

“Has something happened to Ren?” he ventured carefully. With his crew giving up without a fight, survival was now key most in his mind. Easing his hand back to the weapon in the holster at his side, he was confident he could take her out before she realized she was in danger. Neither she nor the knight had blasters making this relatively safe. 

Hux jerked the blaster out of his holster. Rey was distracted but Conall saw it. “My Lady!” he yelled and moved in front of her. Unlike his master Conall could not stop a blaster bolt in midair. It hit him full on. Rey did the only thing she could think of, she threw the ignited light saber at Hux. Kylo Ren would have enjoyed the look of surprise on the general’s face as the saber’s blade pierced his breast and heart.

Calling her saber back to her, Rey knelt beside Conall. “A flesh wound,” he uttered with a weak smile. “Go to him.”  
Rey righted herself as Poe and Finn broke into the control room. “Are you all right?” Finn asked anxiously after seeing Conall’s blood on her hands.

“I’m fine. I have to get to Ben!” she almost shouted and took off running, following a mental scent that would take her through the enormous ship back to him. She could feel the life ebbing out of him and sense the Force ghosts gathering. NO NO NO she thought as hard as she could. He can’t die. I love him. No! Please no.

Phasma stepped out in front of her with weapon at ready. Finding the strength and skills of her dying lover Rey deflected the shot with her blade and never stopped running towards the metal clad woman. No mortal can survive the cutting blade of a light saber. Phasma probably felt no pain. 

Ben’s Knights caught up to her and drove back any storm trooper foolish enough to still be loyal to the First Order. They found him lying on the deck in a pool of blood. Rey and the Knights could feel the ghosts gathering to take him with them. “No! He belongs to me!” Rey shouted passionately. “You can’t have him!” Looking up at the knights, she pleaded, “Please help me.”

Celchar and Ansal moved him so his head rested in her lap. Rey opened her mind to his as hot tears streamed down her face and fell on his. ‘Use the force to heal him’ a decidedly unknown male voice spoke through her pain. ‘The light heals’.

‘You will lose yourself in him’ another unknown male voice spoke authoritatively. 

‘They are already linked’ another male voice spoke. Luke! Through her tears Luke appeared. And beside him Han!

‘Join with him and save his life,’ another materialized ghost of a man who bore a strong resemblance to Luke said. Han could not speak in this realm but the look on his face was agonized.

“How do I do it? How do I save him?” Rey pleaded passionately.

Luke crouched beside her and took one of her hands and laid it over Ben’s forehead. “Close your eyes and feel him.”

Rey did as she was told and immediately felt a terrible pain searing her body. Her natural instincts were to pull away from it. “He’s in so much pain,” she gasped.

The unknown bearded ghost sniffed and remarked, “He feels no pain. The pain you feel is yours.”

“Be still Master Obi Wan,” a strange green ghost said as it materialized beside Luke. 

“Master Yoda,” Obi Wan greeted rather reluctantly.  
“Be one, you must,” Yoda told Rey. “Time short.”

Rey closed her eyes and embraced the pain. Finding the light within her soul, she fought the darkness that threatened to take him away from her. The Force was about life and death but only in its proper time. This was not Ben’s time to die. Dark side powers filled her mind and wrapped itself around her soul. Light and darkness exploded together within her. Pain and anger, love and hope. And poised on a precipice of hope and despair, she felt something else. Another soul was clinging to her.

On that precipice beside her the ghost Obi Wan appeared. “Father for the son?” he asked. Rey understood now that there was new life within her, but was she willing to trade it for the life of the father?

Luke appeared and countered, “The son will live.”

“You don’t know that. This has never been tried before.”

“Then it’s time to try it,” Luke said firmly but with compassion.

Rey knew what she had to do. On the precipice she became one with Ben. In that realm of magic her body merged with his. There was no end or beginning between her and Ben. In that mystical place they became one being, alive and healed.

Rey opened her eyes and gazed down at her lover. He looked up at her and smiled. It was now they both noticed Poe, Finn and Rose standing with the knights watching. Rose was smiling. Finn looked impressed and Poe wasn’t sure what to think. 

The ghosts were gone. Ben Solo stood up and helped Rey to her feet. “Hux and Phasma?” he asked her.

“Dead,” she answered, although how could he not know it. There were no secrets between them, no loneliness or fear. She knew what he was thinking, and he knew her thoughts as well. 

“There are others out there who will rise up to replace the First Order,” he reminded her.

“Yes, but you will not be one of them,” 

He smiled. “No, I won’t.”

 

Rey wanted to make love under the sky, in the warmth of the sun on a blanket with a basket of food beside them. Ben was more than happy to comply. Losing himself in her passion, he felt nothing but love and tenderness towards him. She loved him. Nothing was so sweet as giving himself to her.

Han and Luke watched the young lovers finish the afternoon swimming in a sandy bottomed lake. “This is rather improper,” Luke told the grinning Han.  
“That’s my son,” Han answered as if that was the only explanation needed.

“How can you tell?” Luke asked almost sarcastically. “You know they can sense us. I think it’s time to let them live their lives in peace.”

“So the bad things are over?” Han asked hopefully.

“Humans will always find a way to fuck things up, but right now the Force is in balance.”

“I’m good with that.”


End file.
